HOW IMPORTANT ARE THEY?

One of great capabilities of social media platforms is the ability for users to like and comment on posts. This seems like it could only be positive, but over the years, both individuals and businesses are prone to worry about how many likes a post receives and worse, comparing these numbers to others. So how important are the likes and should you worry about them? The answer is yes and no, so we’ll explain this gray area and what to focus on when deciphering these numbers for your business.

Almost all big or small companies receive less than 1% of likes from their total number of followers
Choose any company – as large as Home Depot or a small, local bakery. Look at 5 of their posts and do the math on what percentage of their total followers are actually liking posts. Across the board, it’s a very small fraction. Why is this? For most people, liking a business post is different than liking their niece’s graduation post. Even though they are paying attention and appreciate a company’s post, many don’t feel a responsibility to hit the like button.

But do likes give my company credibility?
If I were to follow a local dry cleaner and noticed that my neighbor liked their post, I would assume she has been happy with their services. Any number of likes, 1 or 100, is a positive for your business as it shows that users have had a good experience with your company.

Focus on the quality and messaging of your posts
When going through both large and small businesses, even though few posts exceeded 1% of their followers, pay attention to which posts have more likes. What was it about those posts that resonated with their followers? When looking at your own social media, what are themes that seem to be reaching your clients the most?

Social media presence is important
Whether you are a company like Marriott, or a local restaurant, your presence on social media is important. You establish your brand, inform followers, and ideally build trust and confidence. Marriott has 549K followers, and although most of their posts have less than 1K likes, each post provides users an opportunity to connect with this company.